On Wednesday, December 16, Bitter Smith's attorney filed a response (with an extensive appendix) to Brnovich's petition. From early September until today, Bitter Smith never wavered (publicly) in her claim that she does not now nor has she ever had any conflict of interest that would disqualify her from office.

Corporation Commissioner Susan Bitter Smith talked a good game. She talked tough. She wasn’t going to be intimidated.

Then, boom, she resigns.

She’s the Ronda Rousey of politicians, a blustery fighter knocked out in the early rounds.

Regular Arizona Eagletarian readers know the story. But what happens now? Gov. Ducey, after Bitter Smith vacates the office, will have to appoint a Republican to serve the rest of her term, though 2016. The seat would have been subject to election next year anyway. That will still be the case.

Chandler attorney and political activist Tom Ryan told the Republic (and said essentially the same thing when I spoke with him),

"I’m calling upon Gov. Ducey to appoint a former retired judge from
either the Supreme or appellate court, who has no connection to any of
industries regulated at the ACC, and who will agree not to run for
re-election in 2016," Ryan said. "We need to reestablish trust in the
ACC and re-establish integrity at the ACC, and appointing a partisan to
fill this position will undermine that process."

Though many Arizonans are skeptical of Ducey and expect him to make a hyper-partisan selection for Bitter Smith's successor, he did demonstrate willingness to step away from such a posture during the spring legislative session. So, if the public makes a concerted effort to express sentiments similar to Ryan's, we could be pleasantly surprised. Readers can get word to the governor by calling 602-542-4331.

Bitter Smith claims to want to have the Supreme Court rule on the petition and her response anyway. Ryan says that's not going to happen because once she's out, the petition is entirely moot.

In the meantime, you can expect that I will continue to keep my eye on the ACC and my fingers close to the keyboard to let you know what's going on. That IS, after all, the essence of Machiavellian Democracy.